scholarly journals Current surveys may underestimate climate change skepticism evidence from list experiments in Germany and the USA

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. e0251034
Author(s):  
Liam F. Beiser-McGrath ◽  
Thomas Bernauer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Public Concern ◽  
Public Opinion Surveys ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation Policy ◽  
The Usa

Strong public support is a prerequisite for ambitious and thus costly climate change mitigation policy, and strong public concern over climate change is a prerequisite for policy support. Why, then, do most public opinion surveys indicate rather high levels of concern and rather strong policy support, while de facto mitigation efforts in most countries remain far from ambitious? One possibility is that survey measures for public concern fail to fully reveal the true attitudes of citizens due to social desirability bias. In this paper, we implemented list-experiments in representative surveys in Germany and the United States (N = 3620 and 3640 respectively) to assess such potential bias. We find evidence that people systematically misreport, that is, understate their disbelief in human caused climate change. This misreporting is particularly strong amongst politically relevant subgroups. Individuals in the top 20% of the income distribution in the United States and supporters of conservative parties in Germany exhibit significantly higher climate change skepticism according to the list experiment, relative to conventional measures. While this does not definitively mean that climate skepticism is a widespread phenomenon in these countries, it does suggest that future research should reconsider how climate change concern is measured, and what subgroups of the population are more susceptible to misreporting and why. Our findings imply that public support for ambitious climate policy may be weaker than existing survey research suggests.

Questions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
James L. Gibson ◽  
Michael J. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
The U.S

We have investigated the differences in support for the U.S. Supreme Court among black, Hispanic, and white Americans, catalogued the variation in African Americans’ group attachments and experiences with legal authorities, and examined how those latter two factors shape individuals’ support for the U.S. Supreme Court, that Court’s decisions, and for their local legal system. We take this opportunity to weave our findings together, taking stock of what we have learned from our analyses and what seem like fruitful paths for future research. In the process, we revisit Positivity Theory. We present a modified version of the theory that we hope will guide future inquiry on public support for courts, both in the United States and abroad.

scholarly journals The January 6 Insurrection and America's Standing Abroad: Natural Experimental Evidence from Five Unexpectedly Interrupted Public Opinion Surveys

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam van Noort
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Experimental Test ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Random Digit Dialing ◽  
Random Digit ◽  
Public Opinion Surveys ◽  
The Us ◽  
Nationally Representative

American geopolitical power partly relies on foreign public support for its leadership. Pundits worry that this support is evaporating now that the United States—which claims to be the world’s beacon of democracy—has itself experienced democratic back- sliding. I provide the first natural experimental test of this hypothesis by exploiting that the January 6 insurrection of the US Capitol unexpectedly occurred while Gallup was conducting nationally-representative surveys in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Romania, and Vietnam. Because Gallup uses random digit dialing I can identify the effect by comparing US leadership approval among respondents that were interviewed just before, and just after, January 6, 2021. I find that the insurrection had no effect on US approval. If even a violent attempt to overturn a free and fair election does not affect US approval abroad it is unlikely that any other domestic anti-democratic event will.

scholarly journals Social ecology of intelligence and suicide in the United States revisited

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Voracek
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Gross Domestic Product ◽  
The United States ◽  
Suicide Mortality ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Aggregate Level ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Usa

State and oversea territory scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) domains of Mathematics, Reading, Science, and Writing (grades 4 and 8, averaged across assessments 1992-2005) were not reliably related to the suicide rates of these geographical units. The ecological (aggregate-level) correlations were modest, ranging from -.11 to .10, and did not change with controls for regional affluence (gross domestic product). While positive ecological correlations between regional intelligence and suicide mortality have been reported within several other countries (Austria, Belarus, Denmark, Ireland and The United Kingdom, and The Netherlands), the current results add to the inconsistent findings from four previous related studies (by Abel and Kruger and by Voracek) about the direction and magnitude of this correlation within the USA. Possible reasons for this conflicting set of findings and directions for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Implementing ESD in Schools: Perspectives of Principals in Germany, Macau, and the USA

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9823
Author(s):  
Ulrich Müller ◽  
Dawson R. Hancock ◽  
Tobias Stricker ◽  
Chuang Wang
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Challenges ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Substantial Change

To successfully cope with global challenges such as climate change or loss of biodiversity, it will require a substantial change in the ways societies make use of the natural resources of our planet. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is expected to support the transformation of societies towards more sustainable ways of thinking, working, and living. Although there is a broad range of literature on ESD, little is known about the role of school leadership in ESD. However, leadership is crucial for the implementation of ESD in schools. This article gives a short overview of the status of ESD within Germany, Macau, and the United States and a literature review on leadership for ESD in schools. It reports on a study that seeks to investigate what principals do in Germany, Macau, and the United States; specifically, what management strategies they use and which competences they need to successfully establish ESD in their schools.

scholarly journals In Search of the “Good Life”: The Appeal of the Tiny House Lifestyle in the USA

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Severin Mangold ◽  
Toralf Zschau
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Popular Culture ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Good Life ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Good Life ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Meaningful Experiences

Over the past decade, tiny houses and the lifestyle they promote have become a world-wide phenomenon, with the trend especially impactful in the United States. Given their broad appeal and increasing prominence within popular culture, it is surprising how little research exists on them. To help to better understand what motivates people to adopt this lifestyle, this paper presents insights from an exploratory study in the United States and offers the first contours of a new conceptual framework. Situating the lifestyle within the larger economic and cultural forces of our times, it argues that going “tiny” is seen by tiny house enthusiasts as a practical roadmap to the Good Life: A simpler life characterized by more security, autonomy, relationships, and meaningful experiences. The paper ends with a brief discussion of broader implications and directions for future research.

scholarly journals Support for Minimum Legal Sales Age Laws Set to Age 21 Across Australia, Canada, England, and United States: Findings From the 2018 ITC Four Country Smoking and Vaping Survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 2266-2270
Author(s):  
Summer Sherburne Hawkins ◽  
Janet Chung-Hall ◽  
Lorraine Craig ◽  
Geoffrey T Fong ◽  
Ron Borland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Smoking Status ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Former Smokers ◽  
Sectional Analysis

Abstract Introduction Although the United States has seen a rapid increase in tobacco minimum legal sales age (MLSA) laws set to age 21, there is wide variation across high-income countries and less is known about policy support outside of the United States. We examined the prevalence of support for tobacco MLSA 21 laws as well as associations by sociodemographic, smoking, and household characteristics among current and former adult smokers. Methods In this cross-sectional analysis, we used the 2018 International Tobacco Control Four Country Smoking and Vaping Survey to examine support for MLSA 21 laws among 12 904 respondents from Australia, Canada, England, and United States. Results Support for raising the legal age of purchasing cigarettes/tobacco to 21 ranged from 62.2% in the United States to 70.8% in Canada. Endorsement also varied by age, such that 40.6% of 18–20 years old supported the policy compared with 69.3% of those aged ≥60 years. In the adjusted regression model, there was also higher support among respondents who were female than male, non-white than white, those who did not allow smoking in the household than those that did, and those who had children in the household than those that did not. There were no differences by household income, education, or smoking status. Conclusions Most current and former smokers, including a sizable minority of those aged ≤20 years, support raising the legal age of purchasing cigarettes/tobacco to 21. Implications There was strong support for MLSA 21 laws among smokers and former smokers across Australia, Canada, England, and the United States, providing evidence for the increasing public support of the passage of these laws beyond the United States.

scholarly journals What are the Determinants of Public Support for Climate Policies? A Review of the Empirical Literature

2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 213-228
Author(s):  
Silke Bumann
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Party Identification ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Climate Policies ◽  
Change Beliefs ◽  
Demographic Background ◽  
To Receive

Abstract Climate change is one of the most challenging problems of our times. To be effective, climate policies need to receive citizens’ approval. The objective of this article is to examine both the extent of individuals’ support for different climate policies and key determinants of policy support. To this end, an overview of the related empirical literature is provided. The article shows that the empirical literature on public climate policy support is very diverse in terms of concepts, measures of policy support and empirical approaches. Moreover, the bulk of the existing empirical literature has a strong U.S. focus. The article concludes that public support for climate policies is rather a matter of climate change beliefs and party identification, and not primarily a question of socio-demographic background. The article also offers suggestions for future research as well as policy recommendations.

scholarly journals Public support for Latin American presidents: The cyclical model in comparative perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 205316801878769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan E. Carlin ◽  
Jonathan Hartlyn ◽  
Timothy Hellwig ◽  
Gregory J. Love ◽  
Cecilia Martínez-Gallardo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Data Resource ◽  
Presidential Popularity ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Presidential Democracies ◽  
Presidential Systems ◽  
Socio Economic Factors

What characterizes the dynamics of presidential popularity? Research based on the United States of America finds popularity exhibits an almost law-like cyclicality over a president’s term: high post-election “honeymoon” approval rates deteriorate before experiencing an end-of-term boost as new elections approach. We contend that cyclical approval dynamics are not specific to the USA, but rather characteristic of presidential systems more generally, despite heterogeneity in their socio-economic and political contexts. Testing this proposition requires overcoming a key empirical problem: lack of comparable data. We do so by employing time-series inputs from 324 opinion surveys from a new publicly available database—the Executive Approval Database 1.0—to craft quarterly measures of popularity across 18 Latin American contemporary presidential democracies. Our analysis strongly confirms the cyclical approval model for the region. The conclusion identifies avenues for future research on the relationships across approval, presidentialism, and electoral, institutional, and socio-economic factors afforded by the new data resource we present here.

scholarly journals The changing risk and burden of wildfire in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. e2011048118
Author(s):  
Marshall Burke ◽  
Anne Driscoll ◽  
Sam Heft-Neal ◽  
Jiani Xue ◽  
Jennifer Burney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pollution Monitoring ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Science And Policy ◽  
Wildfire Smoke ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Pollution Exposure

Recent dramatic and deadly increases in global wildfire activity have increased attention on the causes of wildfires, their consequences, and how risk from wildfire might be mitigated. Here we bring together data on the changing risk and societal burden of wildfire in the United States. We estimate that nearly 50 million homes are currently in the wildland–urban interface in the United States, a number increasing by 1 million houses every 3 y. To illustrate how changes in wildfire activity might affect air pollution and related health outcomes, and how these linkages might guide future science and policy, we develop a statistical model that relates satellite-based fire and smoke data to information from pollution monitoring stations. Using the model, we estimate that wildfires have accounted for up to 25% of PM2.5 (particulate matter with diameter <2.5 μm) in recent years across the United States, and up to half in some Western regions, with spatial patterns in ambient smoke exposure that do not follow traditional socioeconomic pollution exposure gradients. We combine the model with stylized scenarios to show that fuel management interventions could have large health benefits and that future health impacts from climate-change–induced wildfire smoke could approach projected overall increases in temperature-related mortality from climate change—but that both estimates remain uncertain. We use model results to highlight important areas for future research and to draw lessons for policy.

Identifying the most important predictors of support for climate policy in the United States

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
MATTHEW H. GOLDBERG ◽  
ABEL GUSTAFSON ◽  
MATTHEW T. BALLEW ◽  
SETH A. ROSENTHAL ◽  
ANTHONY LEISEROWITZ
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Relative Weight ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Registered Voters

Abstract Reducing global warming will require enacting strong climate policies, which is unlikely to happen without public support. While prior research has identified varied predictors of climate change policy support, it is unclear which predictors are strongest for the American electorate as a whole, and which predictors are strongest for Democrats and Republicans. In a nationally representative sample of registered voters (n = 2063), we use relative weight analysis to identify the strongest predictors of public climate policy support. We find that, among registered voters in the USA, the five most important predictors of climate policy support are: worry about global warming; risk perceptions; certainty that global warming is happening; belief that global warming is human-caused; and general affect toward global warming. Collectively, these five variables account for 51% of the variance in policy support. Results split by political party indicate that pro-climate injunctive norms and global warming risk perceptions are the variables that differ most between Republicans and Democrats, accounting for significantly more variance in policy support among Republicans. These findings can inform policymakers and advocates seeking to build public support for climate action.

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